Field Editor: List Punctuation Marker

In the Field Editor, under Regions and Rules, you click Create a punctuated list to add list marker fields. List marker fields enable you to produce a list of items from a set of answers, in a format you specify (e.g. APPLES, BANANAS AND ORANGES).

Overview

List punctuation markers enable you to define a list of answers in a template using non-repeated answers. For example, suppose you want to create a list of a client's family members. This list includes the client's name, the client's spouse's name, and the names their children, like this:

The client's family consists of Tim Anderson, spouse Lori Anderson, and children Jessica Anderson, Aubrey Anderson, and Lance Anderson.

However, not all clients will be married or have children. As such, you need HotDocs to adjust the punctuation in the sentence, based on which answers your users provide. You accomplish this by using list punctuation markers and list separator markers to define the appearance of the list:

List Punctuation Markers — indicates the beginning of the list; also indicate the format of the list
List Separator Markers — placed inside the punctuated list to indicate where separator characters (e.g. commas) separate items in the list.
End List Marker — indicates the end of the list

For example, the previous example list will look as follows when marked up using appropriate marker fields:

[.p "a, b, and c"]The client's family consists of [Client Name][.p][IF Client is Married]spouse [Spouse Name][.p][END IF][IF Client Has Children]children [REPEAT Children:a, b, and c][Child Name][END REPEAT>][.p][END IF][.pe].

Common Task

Punctuating a Non-Repeated List of Answers

Punctuate Lists using Marker Fields

You can punctuate list items in your templates by using the following marker fields:

Name	Marker	What It Does
List Punctuation Marker	[.p "punctuation format"]	Identifies the beginning of a punctuated list and assigns the punctuation format.
List Separator Marker	[.p]	Identifies the spot where punctuation character should be inserted.
End List	[.pe]	Identifies the end of the punctuated list.

Examples of Punctuated Lists

In the following example, one list punctuation marker is used:

This example uses two list punctuation markers. First, to punctuate the list of family members (client, spouse, and children). Second, to punctuate the list of individual children in the REPEAT instruction:

[.p "a, b, and c"]The client's family consists of [Client Name][.p][IF Client is Married]spouse [Spouse Name][.p][END IF][IF Client Has Children][.p "a, b, and c"]children [REPEAT Children:a, b, and c][Child Name][END REPEAT>][.pe][.p][END IF][.pe].

For more information, see Punctuate Non-Repeated Lists

Field Type

The Field Type element of the HotDocs Field Editor declares whether the currently selected HotDocs Field is a placeholder field or an instruction field.

Field Properties

Element	What it Does
Format	Enables you to select the list format that represents how you would like your list punctuated.

Field Toolbar

At the bottom of the HotDocs Field Editor, you have access to the following actions:

Buttons	What it Does
Add Field	Adds the placeholder field to the template in the selected location.
Navigation	When a placeholder field is selected, navigation buttons show. Use < and > to navigate to the next HotDocs field. When a conditional instruction is selected, such as ELSE IF, navigation buttons help you to match the corresponding instructions, such as END IF.
Delete Field Button [X]	Selecting anywhere in a HotDocs field causes the Delete field button to appear. If you select outside a HotDocs field, or include anything besides a single HotDocs field, the button disappears (if it was previously visible), or else does not appear. Clicking the Delete field button removes the selected field completely. Clicking Microsoft Word's Undo button restores the field completely. The Delete field button exists to solve a particular problem: In Microsoft Word, you can delete a HotDocs field by clicking in the field, then clicking the field's handle, and then pressing the DELETE key on the keyboard. However, if you select the field using only the keyboard, Word does not easily enable you to delete the field. You can do so by deleting all the content of the field and then pressing the DELETE key again, or if your cursor is just to the right of the field, you can press the Backspace button once to select the field's content, a second time to delete the content, then a third time removes the field. HotDocs provides the Delete field button to simplify this process.